UT Southwestern researcher receives 2014 Korsmeyer Award

Blog Author:

UT System

Wednesday, January 29, 2014

Beth Levine, M.D., a Howard Hughes Medical Institute investigator and director of the Center for Autophagy Research at UT Southwestern Medical Center, has received the 2014 Stanley J. Korsmeyer Award from the American Society for Clinical Investigation.

The award recognizes Levine’s fundamental contributions to the understanding of autophagy — literally, “self-eating” — a housecleaning process in which cells destroy damaged proteins and organelles.

The award is named after the late Dr. Stanley Korsmeyer, an oncologist and researcher who identified key genetic mechanisms that govern cell death and survival.

“Dr. Levine’s work is truly groundbreaking, providing insights into a general biologic process that appears to play a central role in such broadly important areas as our ability to fight infection, nerve degeneration, aging, muscle wasting, and cancer,’’ said Dr. Daniel K. Podolsky, President of UT Southwestern Medical Center. “In the years ahead, these insights promise to enhance treatment for each of these pressing problems. We are delighted that the importance of her discoveries has been recognized through receipt of the Korsmeyer Award, one of the very highest honors for medical research in this country.